The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 7

-Kweh-aaak!

-Greeuk, Kurrook, Kwaa-aaak!

“Young Lady!”

I hurriedly ran to Esmela and hid her behind me.

“Are you saying those things didn’t just show up in the plaza?”

She looked just as surprised.

I tried to estimate the number of zombies coming towards us.

’40? 50? Maybe even more…’

I couldn’t tell exactly, but it looked like it was double the horde we faced at first.

“Kuh…”

Of all times to be ambushed, my strength and mana were already low.

“Step back, Young Lady.”

Just when I pulled out my sword handle and was about to chant—

“Haah, enough. I’ll fight too.”

Esmela sighed and stepped up beside me.

“What? No, it’s fine. I can handle this…”

“What’s with that talk from a person who was nearly dying a moment ago?”

Esmela shot me a sidelong glare.

“…”

She had a point.

Even when facing about 30 zombies, using the Flame of Herta consumed a lot of mana.

It was realistically impossible to take on that many, especially at this low mana point.

‘Damn it, if only I could’ve brought another weapon!’

Those attending the prince’s wedding were not allowed to carry any arms.

This rule applied not just to this wedding, but to every royal event.

So here we were, both Esmela and I were defenseless without any real weapons.

In fact, the sword handle I had could be seen as a prohibited item, but I had sneaked it in by insisting it was just a sword handle when I was caught by the head of the family.

‘If only I had a real sword, I could take a stand without relying on mana…’

A regular sword doesn’t need special features; you just need strength to swing it. But the sword made from Herta’s flame, without mana, is just a blade-less handle.

In the end, I had no choice but to acknowledge my limits.

“…I’m sorry, Young Lady. My lack of strength means I haven’t fulfilled my duties as a servant.”

In the shameful situation of a servant having to stand in for his master, it didn’t matter who was strong or weak.

No, what embarrassed me more was the fact that I couldn’t protect my beloved.

“You don’t need to apologize. If you were stronger, you’d be wearing the Herta crest instead of me.”

Esmela casually brushed off my apology and walked ahead with a click of her heels.

“But Young Lady, you must be careful. You need to ensure your own safety and also watch that your flame doesn’t set the surroundings ablaze.”

“I know. I won’t use the Flame of Herta.”

Is it because she knows about the zombies now? There was not a hint of fear or hesitation in her confident voice.

“This is something I can easily deal with using basic magic. You just support me from behind and don’t overexert yourself.”

“As you command.”

Though she couldn’t see it, I offered my silent pledge to her back.

And I gripped the sword handle again, following her lead.

In just a few moments, the distance to the approaching horde of zombies narrowed significantly.

Esmela remained calm, raising both palms towards the ground right in front of where the zombies were charging.

“Earth Manipulate.”

Guguguung!

As she chanted the earth magic, the ground suddenly rose, creating a large wall blocking the zombies’ path.

[Loina] The magic system in this world is based on the five elements: fire, water, wind, earth, and lightning, following a typical fantasy magic structure.

Generally, casting magic requires chanting the incantation, except for special cases, and the incantations usually consist of two words: ‘Element + Magic Type.’

For example, for basic fire magic, if the caster wants to shoot a fireball, they would chant ‘Fire Ball.’

And of course, these two-word basic magic spells aren’t very powerful.

If an average magician casts a Fire Ball, it might take out one or two goblins at best.

From this fact, we can infer Esmela’s magical prowess, as she created a massive 3-meter high barrier simply using basic earth magic to block the horde of zombies.

The zombies that crashed into the earthen wall let out bewildered groans.

Esmela immediately pointed her right index finger beyond the barrier and chanted her next spell.

“Thunder Strike.”

In an instant, a bolt of lightning struck down from the sky right above the zombies’ heads.

Pzzzt!

-Gwaaaaak!

The sound of lightning hitting the ground and the screams of the zombies frying mixed chaotically.

-Kraaaah!

However, even the thunderous lightning that struck down like a force of nature did not completely break the zombies’ momentum.

“…!”

Zombies began to crawl over the wall in front of me.

“Hmm. Did they climb over each other’s heads?”

-Ggik… Ghek!

-Gyaaaaak!

Not only that, a couple of zombies started to squeeze through the gaps on either side of the wall.

“Young Lady. Your orders.”

Now that Esmela was on the front lines, I was just a soldier dutifully following her commands.

“Deal with those trying to break through on the left. You can handle that, right?”

“As you command.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I dashed towards the left side of the wall and shouted.

“Flame of Herta, become my sword and smite our foes!”

The burning crimson Flame Sword cleaved through the head of a zombie that had just managed to get its body outside the barrier.

“Hah!”

Without slowing the sword’s momentum, I pierced the head of another zombie trying to squeeze out behind it.

Pak!

I kicked the chest of the one with its head skewered, toppling the following zombies as well.

“Huuh…”

-Kwek?

-Gah, Gyaak!

I took a breath as I looked down at the zombies struggling in a tangle on the ground.

I turned my gaze to see what Esmela was doing on the right.

“Ice Needle.”

I witnessed the transparent ice spikes she created piercing through the heads of the zombies climbing over the wall and those trying to escape to the right.

-Gak, Kaaak!

However, the dozens of remaining zombies continued desperately trying to get over the wall to devour us.

“…”

Esmela observed the scene for a moment, then said.

“Lanit, fall back.”

With just a short command, she closed her eyes.

I immediately withdrew my Flame Sword and jumped back to where she was.

Right after I retreated, a blue light started to seep from her left chest.

Esmela was activating her Mana Heart to draw out a massive amount of mana.

When she opened her eyes again, the mana she released was causing a small whirlwind around her.

She raised both hands towards the horde of zombies and shouted.

“Earth Manipulate.”

The massive barrier blocking the zombie horde vanished back into the ground.

-Gwo?

Suddenly confused, the zombies stood dumbfounded,

-Kraaaah!

And then they charged at us with all their might.

But she didn’t move an inch and immediately chanted her next spell.

“Emit, Colossal Flame, Forward!”

As the incantation for the intermediate magic ended, a massive magic circle appeared in the air, perpendicular to the ground in front of her outstretched hands.

Just as the zombies closed the distance to bite us, the magic circle was fully completed.

Then,

Kwaaaaaah!

A gigantic pillar of flame erupted from the magic circle, incinerating all the zombies without a trace.

Kwaaaaaah—

The colossal fire burst forth, threatening to engulf everything in front of us, before gradually subsiding.

“…”

I stared, dumbfounded, at the scene where the flames had swept through.

The zombies that had been hit directly by intermediate fire magic turned to ashes without leaving a trace, and even those at the back had their upper bodies melted, leaving only their struggling lower halves on the ground.

The ground was scarred along the path of the flames, and the signs of that destruction stretched out for dozens of meters.

Once again glancing around, not a single zombie remained.

Just as I was about to express my admiration for her display of magical power—

Flare.

I spotted several buildings caught aflame from the impact of the fire magic.

“Young Lady!”

“I noticed.”

Esmela nonchalantly began to chant another spell.

“Pour, Rain, Downward.”

Shhwaaaa—

This time, rain cascaded from the air, extinguishing the fires in the vicinity.

“Haah…”

After cleaning up the area with magic, Esmela showed no excitement whatsoever and displayed an expression of annoyance, placing her hands on her hips.

“This is why fighting with magic in the city is a hassle. Buildings just collapse and burn with anything you do…”

…Only she, hailed as a genius of magic never to set foot again in the kingdom, could indulge in such petty grievances.